louder than a lion;

“It’s only natural for people to cry in preparation of missing others that they care about.”

Right. I wish it was less sad, though I guess there’s no avoiding that.

I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted. I should’ve studied harder.

I don’t think it was possible for you to study any harder than you did. Most of your time was spent studying, and your grades came out great! You should be so proud of yourself.

Umm.. yeah?

Ollie, it’s a huge deal. You...  you didn’t have to do that for me. 

[Nuzzling into her neck when he hears her and freezes.] It… nothing princess.

She’s not? [gently, she moves so she can get a look at his face, fingers skimming across his cheeks before she moves a hand to brush his hair back] Do you... do you want to go see her?

No, they’re not. Great grades would be Os across the board.

But those are still great grades. You could do whatever you want with grades like that. And, I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to get all Os. You did fantastic.

[Presses a kiss to her head and then pulls back to spin her around to face him.] Ey, less of that, you. I ain’t going nowhere.

What? [stares at him, dumb-founded] You... you failed your exams? On purpose?

[Sighs contentedly as she curls around him and leans over to kiss at her cheek.] The fucking luckiest.

[relaxes into him, a grin stretching onto her face] Shut up. [she pauses, remembering what she’d seen when she walked in] You never answered my question.

I scored two Es on my N.E.W.Ts. Es.

Oh my God! That’s incredible, Demp! Why aren’t you excited about that? Those are great grades!

[Sneaks up on her from behind and winds his arms around her middle, resting his chin on the top of her head.] Crying? Hope you don’t mean you princess.

[her expression drops considerably and she strains to even her voice, though it doesn’t help much] How can I not? I just... so many people are leaving. You’re leaving. I’m happy for you, I’m... I’m gonna miss you though.

[standing in a corner, reading over his final grades]

What’s wrong? They weren’t what you expected?

Princess, sorry, I just…

[sighs, unable to keep herself from smiling, and nods before moving to slide into the space he wasn’t occupying, sliding closer to him, cuddling into his side] You’re lucky I love you, you know?

Your story? Blah blah, boyfriend in the hospital wing. Is there a point to it?

Right. I just... [shifts uncomfortably] Never mind. We... we can talk about something else.

If you really thought that I was going to just sit outside and leave you in here alone, you don’t know me that well. 

Is there a point to this story? Because it’s really boring.

... Sorry?

Doe sighed, crouching down to the other girl’s level. “Rudy’s going to be alright, I promise. But if I know him, and believe me, I do, he’d be beside himself if anything happened to you because you weren’t taking care of yourself while he wasn’t able to.” The Ravenclaw felt a twinge of pain as she said this, knowing that Rudy did love the girl he’d left her for, but it was just that, a twinge. She loved Rudy, but she had for the most part gotten over him. “Look, he’d never forgive me if I didn’t make sure you got back to your common room alright, and more importantly, he’d never forgive himself, so…”

“I can’t.” She sat up quickly, moving to stand, using the wall to support her for a moment. “What if something happens to him while I’m gone? He’s all alone in there, Doe. I can’t just leave him there.”